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Top Gun: Maverick

2022 film directed by Joseph Kosinski

Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 film and a sequel to Top Gun about Maverick's return to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, where he must confront his past as he trains a group of younger fighter pilots, among them the son of Maverick's best friend Goose.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski. Written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. Based on characters by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
Who's the better pilot, you or me?
"The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction."
"Maybe so, sir. But not today."
It's not the plane, it's the pilot.
"Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations. Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years. "Distinguished." "Distinguished." "Distinguished." Yet you can't get a promotion, you won't retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star Admiral by now, if not a Senator. Yet here you are. Captain. Why is that?"
"It's one of life's mysteries, sir."
You really don't get it. On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back... We're going into combat, son, on a level no living pilot's ever seen. Not even him. That's no time to be thinking about the past.
Come on, Mav, do some of that pilot shit.

Capt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

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  • [Repeated line] Talk to me, Goose.

LT Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

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Dialogue

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Hammer: [going through Maverick's service record] Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations. Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years. "Distinguished." "Distinguished." "Distinguished." Yet you can't get a promotion, you won't retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star Admiral by now, if not a Senator. Yet here you are...Captain. Why is that?
Maverick: It's one of life's mysteries, sir.
Hammer: This isn't a joke. I asked you a question.
Maverick: I'm where I belong, sir.
Hammer: Well, the Navy doesn't see it that way. Not anymore. Those planes you've been testing, Captain... one day sooner than later they won't need pilots at all. Pilots that need to eat, sleep, take a piss. [glares at Maverick] Pilots that disobey orders. All you did was buy some time for those men out there. The future is coming, and you're not in it. [to the Masters-at-Arms] Escort this man off the base. Take him to his quarters. Wait with him while he packs his gear. I want him on the road to North Island within the hour.
Maverick: North Island, sir?
Hammer: Call came in with impeccable timing just as I was driving here to ground your ass once and for all. It galls me to say it, but...for reasons known only to the Almighty and your guardian angel...you've been called back to Top Gun.
Maverick: [in disbelief] Sir?
Hammer: You are dismissed, Captain. [calling after Maverick as he goes to leave] The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction.
Maverick: Maybe so, sir. But not today.
Cyclone: Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Your reputation precedes you.
Maverick: Thank you, sir.
Cyclone: Wasn't a compliment.
Maverick: I have to admit I wasn't expecting an invitation back.
Warlock: They're called "orders," Maverick.
Cyclone: I'm Vice-Admiral Beau Simpson, I'm the Air Boss. I believe you know Rear Admiral Bates.
Maverick: Warlock, sir.
Warlock: You two have something in common. Cyclone was first in his class back in '88.
Maverick: Actually, sir, I finished second. Just wanted to manage expectations.
Warlock: The target: An underground uranium enrichment plant built in violation of a multilateral NATO treaty. This plant poses a direct threat to our allies in the region. The Pentagon has tasked us with assembling a strike team and taking it out, before it becomes fully operational. The plant sits in an underground bunker at the end of this valley. Said valley is GPS-jammed and protected by a surface-to-air missile array, serving a limited number of fifth-generation fighters, which in turn backed up by a plentiful array of surplus aircraft - even a few old F-14's.
Cyclone: Seems like we're not the only ones holding on to old relics.
Warlock: What's your read, Captain?
Maverick: Well, sir, normally this would be a cakewalk for the F-35 stealth, but the GPS jamming negates that. The surface-to-air threat necessitates a low-level, laser-guided strike, tailor-made for the F-18. I figure four precision bombs, minimum. That makes it four F-18s, flying in pairs. That is one hell of a steep climb outta there, exposing you to all the SAMs. You survive that, it's a dogfight all the way home.
Warlock: All scenarios for which you have real-world experience.
Maverick: Not the same mission, sir. [looks back at the screen displaying the enrichment plant] No, someone's not coming back from this.
Cyclone: Can it be done or not?
Maverick: How soon before the plant becomes operational?
Warlock: Three weeks, maybe less.
Maverick: Well, it's been a while since I've flown an F-18, and I don't know who I'd trust to fly the other three, but, I'll find a way to make it work.
Warlock: I think you misunderstand, Captain.
Cyclone: We don't want you to fly it. We want you to teach it.
Warlock: [activates a screen listing of pilots] We recalled 12 Top Gun graduates from their squadrons. We want you to narrow that pool down to six. They'll fly the mission.
Cyclone: Is there a problem, Captain?
Maverick: You know there is, sir.
Cyclone: Yeah. Bradley Bradshaw, AKA "Rooster." Understand you used to fly with his old man. Tragic what happened.
Warlock: Captain Mitchell was cleared of any wrongdoing; Goose's death was an accident.
Cyclone: Is that how you see it, Captain? Is that how Goose's son sees it?
Maverick: With all due respect, sir, I'm not a teacher.
Cyclone: You were a Top Gun instructor before.
Maverick: That was over 30 years ago, sir; I lasted two months. It's not where I belong.
Cyclone: Well, then let me be perfectly blunt: you were not my first choice. In fact, you weren't even on a list. You are here at the request of Admiral Kazansky. Now, Iceman happens to be a man I deeply admire. And he feels you still have something left to offer the Navy. What that is I can't imagine. You don't have to take this job. But let me be clear: this will be your last post, Captain. You fly for Top Gun, or you don't fly for the Navy ever again.
[After an air dispute between Maverick and Rooster amidst their exercise almost crashes their planes]
Cyclone: The hard deck is 5,000 feet above ground level, a parameter set not just for the safety of our pilots, but for the safety of their aircraft. 5,000 feet is not just a rule- it is a law, as immutable as gravity!
Maverick: The hard deck will be much lower for the mission, sir.
Cyclone: And it will not change without my approval! Especially not in the middle of an exercise! And that Cobra maneuver of yours, that could’ve got all three of you killed! I never wanna see that shit again!
Warlock: What exactly do you suppose you were teaching, Captain?
Maverick: That as good as they are, sir, they still have something to learn.
Cyclone: You're talking about the best fighter pilots on the planet, Captain.
Maverick: And they’ve been told that their entire career, while they’ve been dropping bombs from a high altitude with little to no dog-fighting. The parameters of this mission call for something they have never encountered, something-
Cyclone: Okay, you have less than three weeks, to teach them how to fight as a team... and how to strike the target.
Maverick: And how to come home. [Cyclone stares, surprised] And how to... come home, sir.
Cyclone: Every mission has its risks. These pilots accept that.
Maverick: I don’t, sir.
Cyclone: [pauses] Every morning, from this day forward, you will brief us on your instructional plans in writing. And nothing will change, without my express approval.
Maverick: Including the hard deck, sir?
Cyclone: Especially the hard deck, Captain!
Maverick: [sets a folder on Cyclone's desk] Sir.
Cyclone: What is this?
Maverick: It's a request to lower the hard deck, sir, to practice a low level bombing run, per the mission parameters.
[Cut to soon after, with Warlock and Maverick heading through a hallway]
Warlock: You could learn a thing or two about timing, Captain.
[Maverick visits Iceman]
Maverick: Admiral. [sits down] How's my wingman?
Iceman: [types on his computer] I want to talk about work.
Maverick: Please. Don't worry about me. What can I do for you? [Iceman looks at Maverick and points at the typed words.] All right...well, Rooster is still angry with me about what I did. I thought eventually he would understand why. I hoped he'd forgive me.
Iceman: [typing] There's still time.
Maverick: The mission is less than three weeks away. The kid's not ready.
Iceman: [typing] Then teach him.
Maverick: He doesn't want what I have to give. [Iceman waves him off] Ice, please. Don't ask me to send someone else to die, please don't- don't ask me to send him. Send me.
Iceman: [typing] It's time to let go.
Maverick: [visibly emotional in comprehending words] I don't know how. [pause] I'm not a teacher, Ice. I'm a fighter pilot. A naval aviator. It's not what I am, it's who I am. How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it's not what Rooster wants. It's not what the Navy wants. That's why they canned me the last time. The only reason I'm here is you. If I send him on this mission, he might never come home... And if I don't send him, he'll never forgive me. Either way, I can lose him forever. [looks again at the computer screen] I know. I know. [exhales deeply]
[Iceman stands up and Maverick rises to meet him]
Iceman: [coughs then whispers] The Navy...needs...Maverick. The kid...needs...Maverick. That's why I fought for you. That's why you're still here.
Maverick: [embraces Iceman] Thank you, Ice, for everything.
Iceman: One last thing. Who's the better pilot, you or me?
Maverick: [pauses] This is a nice moment, let's not ruin it. [they grin, laugh and embrace one last time]
[Maverick chances upon Rooster at the ready room in the wake of Phoenix and Bob's bird strike]
Maverick: They're keeping Phoenix and Bob in the hospital overnight for observation. They're gonna be okay.
Rooster: That's good. [pauses] I've never lost a wingman.
Maverick: You're lucky. Keep flying long enough, it'll happen. There will be others.
Rooster: Easy for you to say. No wife, no kids. No one to miss you when you burn in.
Maverick: Get some sleep. [goes to leave]
Rooster: Why'd you pull my papers at the Academy? Why did you stand in my way?
Maverick: You weren't ready.
Rooster: Ready for what? Huh? Ready to fly like you?
Maverick: No, ready to forget the book. Trust your instincts! Don't think, just do. You think up there, you're dead. Believe me.
Rooster: My dad believed in you. I'm not gonna make the same mistake.
Rooster: There's more than one way to fly this mission.
Hangman: You really don't get it. On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back. [to Phoenix] No offense, Lieutenant.
Bob: But somehow, you always manage.
Hangman: Hey, I don't mean to criticize, you're conservative, that's all.
Maverick: Lieutenant...
Hangman: We're going into combat, son, on a level no living pilot's ever seen. [referring to Maverick] Not even him. That's no time to be thinking about the past.
Rooster: What's that supposed to mean?
Maverick: Rooster...
Hangman: I can't be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man.
Maverick: Lieutenant, that's enough.
Hangman: Or that Maverick was flying when his old man-
[Rooster jumps up and tries to attack Hangman; the other pilots hold him back and separate the two]
Maverick: That's enough!
Rooster: You son of a bitch!
Hangman: Hey, I'm cool, I'm cool. Hey.
Maverick: That's enough!
Hangman: He's not cut out for this mission.
Maverick: That's enough.
Hangman: [to Maverick, leaving the room] You know it. You know I'm right.
Maverick: You're all dismissed.
[after Maverick demonstrates that the mission he's trying to teach can be accomplished]
Cyclone: You have put me in a difficult position, Captain. On the one hand, you have demonstrated that this mission can be flown, perhaps the only way it can be survived. On the other hand, you did it by stealing a multi-million dollar military aircraft and flying it in such a manner that it may never be airworthy again. Iceman is no longer here to protect you. I have everything I need to have you court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. So what do I do? Risk the lives of my pilots and perhaps the success of this mission? Or, risk my career by appointing you team leader?
Maverick: [tries to approach Cyclone] Sir...
Warlock: [holds him back] I think the Admiral is asking a rhetorical question, Captain.
Rooster: [Looking below at 5th Gen fighters] Mav tally two, five o'clock low! What do we do?
Maverick: Okay listen. Just be cool. If they knew who we were we'd be dead already.
Rooster: Well, here they come. What's your plan?
Maverick: Just put your mask on. Remember, we're on the same team. Just waive and smile. Just wave and smile.
Rooster: [watching fighter pilot's hand signals] What's that signal, what's he saying?
Maverick: No idea. I have no idea what he's saying.
Rooster: What about that one, any idea?
Maverick: Nope, never seen that one either.
[One of the fighters banks right and drops back behind the F-14]
Rooster: Shit. His wingman is moving into weapons envelope.
Maverick: Alright, listen up. When I tell you, you grab those rigs above your head. That's the ejection handle.
Rooster: Mav, can we outrun these guys?
Maverick: Not their missiles and guns.
Rooster: Then it's a dogfight.
Maverick: In an F-14? Against fifth-gen fighters?
Rooster: It's not the plane, it's the pilot. You'd go after 'em if I wasn't here.
Maverick: But you are here.
Rooster: Come on, Mav. Don't think. Just do.
[Having spent all ammo shooting down two fifth-generation fighters, Maverick and Rooster are stunned that a third plane is moving to attack - until it is shot down just as it's launching a missile that would certainly kill them]
Hangman: [on radio] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, this is your savior speaking. Please fasten your seat belts, return the tray tables to their locked and upright positions and prepare for landing.
Rooster: Hey, Hangman, you look good.
Hangman: I am good, Rooster. I'm very good. I'll see you back on deck.

Cast

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